DigiBakeDay prep

Tomorrow's #digibakeday! For the many of you out there who have no idea what I'm talking about, lemme break it down for you: some of the participants from DigiWriMo were sad about the idea of the community just dissipating after November 30th, so Lonni Wilson (@lonniwilson on Twitter) decided to organize DigiBakeDay to keep the community going and to share holiday baking traditions with each other.

Some of last year's cookies

I can't say that I'm very good at keeping traditions, but for a few years in a row when I was younger, my mom and I did bake sour cream holiday cookies together and then decorate them. I liked that, so I baked some cookies last year and invited some people over to help me decorate. Just a small group. It was fun. We had some - ahem - "creative" folks among us (read: cookies decorated like penises and vaginas), but they're my friends for a reason so....

And it just so happened that when Lonni proposed DigiBakeDay, I had already planned to have people over for cookie decorating again this year. More people, actually, since I made many new friends this year. (Huh. It's funny; I hadn't even thought of that before this moment, but it's true. As a result of taking a creative non-fiction writing class in the spring, I'm hooked into a whole community of wonderful, creative, smart, hilarious people. Who of course think I'm hilarious.) I'd set a date and everything. And it just so happened that the date I'd picked was also chosen to be DigiBakeDay. How convenient!

Which is all leading up to this moment: The Recipe.

I think Mom found it in a Betty Crocker cookbook or something. Or it could have been my Grandma Mary's recipe. Not sure. In any case, here it is. Both parts: first the cookies, and then the frosting.

Guess what the wine is for...

Sour Cream Cookies
1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 2/3 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sour cream
2 eggs

Mix butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sour cream. Mix until all ingredients blended and dough is in ball form. [Note: when I did this last year my dough was really sticky, and I ended up adding flour, a handful at a time, until it was the right consistency.] Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Roll out 1/4" thick on well-floured board [or parchment paper on the counter, in my case] and cut with lightly floured cookie cutters. Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake 4-6 min on ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies are done when the bottoms and edges are lightly brown and the top is white.

Frosting
1/2 c. softened butter
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbs. milk

Mix it up!